headed to Georgia

Headed for Georgia for the holidaze, 23rd - ?. Athens and Warner Robins (near Macon) to be exact. Any good places to ride? Any group rides or that sort of thing on the schedule? Any of you care to tolerate a Yankee SS'er on one of your rides?

I saw this (Trails - SORBA Athens) but the forum didn't seem too active. I might dig up some gpx tracks for my garmin as well. At the very least, maybe y'all can give me some pointers on good routes. Maybe 15+ miles or so depending on elevation gain.

What kind of riding do I like? Intermediate terrain, keep-it moving moderate pace. I rode Fort Yarbo a few years ago and thought it was fun enough but kinda tame technically and aerobically. Oh, and I finished the SM100 last year, if that means anything to you.

if you are accustomed to the SM100, you won't find that in Athens or Macon/Warner Robins. those areas are very flat in comparison to the Shenandoah Mountains. here's a good link to MOST of the trail heads in GA.

If you want Mtns. take an extra day and head to Snake Creek gap in Dalton, GA or go to Pisgah in NC. Either one, you could string together 50/75/100 miles of mostly singletrack. Both are only about 2 hrs from Athens. I hope this helps.

if you are accustomed to the SM100, you won't find that in Athens or Macon/Warner Robins. those areas are very flat in comparison to the Shenandoah Mountains. here's a good link to MOST of the trail heads in GA.

If you want Mtns. take an extra day and head to Snake Creek gap in Dalton, GA or go to Pisgah in NC. Either one, you could string together 50/75/100 miles of mostly singletrack. Both are only about 2 hrs from Athens. I hope this helps.

How does Chickopee compare to FATS? Looking at a trail map it appears to have a similar IMBA-style network of trails. I was considering driving out to FATS but if Chickopee is similar enough than I might save myself a trip out there.

Originally Posted by RedneckRider

BTW: Congrats on killing the SM100. I've heard nothing but awesome things about the trail, the ride, and the people that support it.

Ha, I didn't say that I "killed" it, but I finished despite rain (at times torrential) and lots of mud. One of the best days of my life!

Originally Posted by Rutgyr

Blankest Creek west of Athens, just north of Atlanta and Dauset in Jackson, about an hour from Warner Robbins would be good to check out.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.

Anyone know anything close to Macon? Thomson trails good? Piedmont Wildlife Refuge (even if it's fireroad, I'm OK with that as long as I can get a decent workout in on a 32-19)?

In the Macon / WR area, you have a couple options:
1. Pig Trail
2. LH Thomson trail
3. Dauset in Jackson, GA about 35 minutes north of Macon
4. Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in Juliette -- FS Roads but better than nothing

Pig Trail is on the grounds of the Methodist Children's Home in Macon. LH Thomson is in Byron, between Macon and WR.

Having lived there for several years and since I have family there I'll concur that it's not mountainous, but you can still squeeze in a ride while the rest of the family is sleeping off Christmas turkey.

Your SS should be fine on any of those trails. Be prepared, though, if you want distance, you need to hit Dauset. The other trails are shorter loops and you'll be knocking out 3+ to get a 'good' ride.

Oh, and stay away from the East Macon Park trails unless you want some jackoff to break into your car. (sorry, just happened to me near my home in ATL 4 days ago so I'm still a little peeved).

As others have suggested, we do have other trails in the north parts of the state that are better than Central GA, but if you're looking for the quick getaway, there's your list of options.

From your screen name, I'm guessing you're from Baltimore. Are the trails at Patapsco SP and Loch Raven still around? Drop me an email and we can exchange contact info. Perhaps I can help you out a little more while you're down in Dixie. 'adventureguru at 33north dot com'

Thanks Charles (k2biker), that's the kind of insider knowledge I'm looking for. It looks like Chickopee or Fort Yargo while in Athens, and maybe a trip to Blanket's Creek or FATS. Then Dauset or Piedmont while in WR.

Good to have options.

Originally Posted by k2biker

From your screen name, I'm guessing you're from Baltimore. Are the trails at Patapsco SP and Loch Raven still around? Drop me an email and we can exchange contact info. Perhaps I can help you out a little more while you're down in Dixie. 'adventureguru at 33north dot com'

Patapsco is my local trail, and it's truly a gem. I'm spoiled having these trails so close. Lots of recent activity in opening up old, neglected trails enabling riders to go on 30+ mile rides mostly singletrack. Lots of variety back there - fast and flowy, tight and twisty, rock gardens, logs, steep climbs, sketchy downhills with jumps and drops... you name it. Also recently opened up the Rockburn Skills Park adjacent to Patapsco.

I was planning on taking my gearie so I'd have some flexibility, even though my SS get's 90% of the attention these days, but then this happened:

Hey everyone, thanks for the suggestions. Yesterday, I did a 30-miler at Chicopee. Decent trails, easy to follow.... but would it *kill* you to leave a log or two in the trail? Darn IMBA trails smh.

I hear you on the 'sanatizing' of trails. It has been the trend for a long time. That being said, I am thankful for the people doing the work. I find that riding a 29er has made riding smooth trails so much more fun, so I dont really mind that much but yeah being from the NE ..... I miss my brutally technical rocks and roots !!!

Hey everyone, thanks for the suggestions. Yesterday, I did a 30-miler at Chicopee. Decent trails, easy to follow.... but would it *kill* you to leave a log or two in the trail? Darn IMBA trails smh.

Yeah, that is a problem in this whole area. Heck, it seems that we cannot even keep people from cutting out minor roots that take just a bit of skill to clear. It seems that nobody wants to learn any skills and just wants buff bike path like trails. Then on a cool trail like Van Michael at Blankets, they replace many of the swithback turns with bmx like banked sweepers - I do not understand the dumbing down of the trails. If a tree/log is left down them smaller logs are stacked around it so all you have to do is roll over.

Yeah, that is a problem in this whole area. Heck, it seems that we cannot even keep people from cutting out minor roots that take just a bit of skill to clear. It seems that nobody wants to learn any skills and just wants buff bike path like trails. Then on a cool trail like Van Michael at Blankets, they replace many of the swithback turns with bmx like banked sweepers - I do not understand the dumbing down of the trails. If a tree/log is left down them smaller logs are stacked around it so all you have to do is roll over.

My local trail system (Patapsco Valley State Park in Maryland) is more technical than the advanced trail at Chicopee, with plenty of rock gardens, tons of logs, awkward rooty steep climbs, long lung-buster climbs, and scary steep descents. We're super-lucky to have what we have here. For me that means when I ride Chicopee it's no sweat, but for someone who's only ridden Chicopee, you come up here and you'll quickly be over your head. And that's not only frustrating but dangerous.

I'm not trying to say "my Dad's stronger than your Dad" or anything, it's just a problem that I have with IMBA designed and machine built trail systems: they're good for the beginner rider, but they don't have the more realistic features you'll find in true mountain bike trails.

But as one friend pointed out the other day, sometimes it's up to the land-owner. They might not want technical trails for fear of liability. So it's good that you have the trail system that you have, and I'm psyched for you that you have it.

Funny thing is, after riding for several hours I was spacing out a bit and clipped my pedal on a small hidden stump and took a (thankfully soft-landing) spill. 99.9% of the trail was so well groomed, why'd you leave that little hidden stump there?

My local trail system (Patapsco Valley State Park in Maryland) is more technical than the advanced trail at Chicopee, with plenty of rock gardens, tons of logs, awkward rooty steep climbs, long lung-buster climbs, and scary steep descents. We're super-lucky to have what we have here. For me that means when I ride Chicopee it's no sweat, but for someone who's only ridden Chicopee, you come up here and you'll quickly be over your head. And that's not only frustrating but dangerous.

I'm not trying to say "my Dad's stronger than your Dad" or anything, it's just a problem that I have with IMBA designed and machine built trail systems: they're good for the beginner rider, but they don't have the more realistic features you'll find in true mountain bike trails.

But as one friend pointed out the other day, sometimes it's up to the land-owner. They might not want technical trails for fear of liability. So it's good that you have the trail system that you have, and I'm psyched for you that you have it.

Funny thing is, after riding for several hours I was spacing out a bit and clipped my pedal on a small hidden stump and took a (thankfully soft-landing) spill. 99.9% of the trail was so well groomed, why'd you leave that little hidden stump there?

Yeah, we have some technical trails that are further from the perimiter (or Metro Atlanta), it's just these trails are used by so many skill levels that we have to be carefull.

For example a couple of weeks ago I witnessed a dad and his 10 year old daughter on Dwelling Loop (a local intermediate trail), both on target bikes with jeans and no joke his daughter had sandals on.

While that isn't the most technical trail you can get close to 20 mph+ on that trail and it can be pretty dangerous in a situation like that.

Yeah, we have some technical trails that are further from the perimiter (or Metro Atlanta), it's just these trails are used by so many skill levels that we have to be carefull.

For example a couple of weeks ago I witnessed a dad and his 10 year old daughter on Dwelling Loop (a local intermediate trail), both on target bikes with jeans and no joke his daughter had sandals on.

While that isn't the most technical trail you can get close to 20 mph+ on that trail and it can be pretty dangerous in a situation like that.

When trails are so closed to the burbs it's just a fact of life.

You may want to look up Patapsco SP my friend... it's in the middle of the burbs too -- actually much closer to downtown Baltimore than Blankets is to Atlanta (~10 miles from the Inner Harbor). Blankets does get an extreme number of users too, by any measure. That in itself changes a trail's characteristics.

There are various other factors at play including different terrain, trail building techniques (hand vs machine), and perspective on the sport. Don't believe me? Pick up current issues of Bike and Dirt Rag ( I believe) -- both have articles on whether or not we've gone too far with how we build new trails and the affects it's having on the sport. This thread is not the place to debate it, though. That's what the Trailbuilding Forum is for

You may want to look up Patapsco SP my friend... it's in the middle of the burbs too -- actually much closer to downtown Baltimore than Blankets is to Atlanta (~10 miles from the Inner Harbor). Blankets does get an extreme number of users too, by any measure. That in itself changes a trail's characteristics.

There are various other factors at play including different terrain, trail building techniques (hand vs machine), and perspective on the sport. Don't believe me? Pick up current issues of Bike and Dirt Rag ( I believe) -- both have articles on whether or not we've gone too far with how we build new trails and the affects it's having on the sport. This thread is not the place to debate it, though. That's what the Trailbuilding Forum is for

Let's go ride!

Yeah I read that article and it's no doubt an interesting topic for sure. I definitely see both sides to the argument and am really not sure where I fall (somewhere in the middle perhaps).

I hear what your saying and was just offering up a possible suggestion as to why it was like that. Either way I have never even been to the trail building forum so I appreciate the suggestion. It's something that I am interested in for sure.